Cooking Terms Glossary

Cooking With Dee - Winter 2010

Brrrrrr It's Cold!

Its winter in most of the country and is been so cold lately the only thing that comes to mind is feeding your family food that keeps them warm and fuels them up for the day.  The first thing that comes to mind is a good hearty bowl of soup or stew and a loaf of good crunchy bread.  Both soups and stews stretch your dollar because you can use more economical cuts of meat. 

Since we are talking about soups lets get to basics and begin with Stock vs Broth.  A good stock is made mostly from bones and a broth is made mostly with meat.  It is essential that every good cook knows how to make a stock. Stock is used in so many dishes and can be stored easily in the freezer. You can use stock in your soups and stews to enhance the flavor.  Many cultures also use stocks and broths as an essential ingredient to their cooking. Asian cuisines base most of their dishes on broth. You can always find a pot of broth cooking away in Chinese kitchen.  Bones and scraps are thrown in pots and mineral rich stock is used as the base for many a stir-fry.  Soups are also an essential snack food all throughout Asia. 

Although making a good stock or soup is mostly a hands off project, it is time consuming so plan to do it over a weekend or when you have at least 6 hours to spare.  After you make your stock you will need to strain it and de-fat it so have cheesecloth on hand for straining.  Whenever I make a stock or a soup I cool it down and refrigerate it over night. Doing this helps separate the fat from the stock or broth because the fat rises and congeals after chilling it. It makes it easier to remove. 

I have to say that when making my vegetable beef soup I notice there is a significant decrease in the amount of fat in the soup when I used Painted Creek beef instead of beef from the grocery store..  Try using Oxtail when making your soup.  Oxtails are just becoming popular in the U.S but they have been a mainstay in Asian, Caribbean and Hispanic cultures for years.  When using them in a soup or stew they have a very velvety texture and give your meal a great beefy flavor. Sometimes you may need to add flavor enhancers to your soups and that’s fine.  I usually use Goya Beef Bouillon packets.  I find Goya is not as salty as some of the other bouillons out there .

Stews are also a very basic but essential food also found in many cultures.  The definition of a stew is a combination of solid foods ingredients that have been simmered slowly at a low temperature in liquid.  It usually contains meat, vegetables, herbs and liquids such as stock, wine and sometimes beer.   It’s a great way to use less tender cuts of meat that become tender during the long process. Using cuts that have good marbling and gelatinous connective tissue make a moist juicy stew while using a leaner cut may make the stew dry.  Stews are usually thickened by either reduction or thickened with flour by coating the pieces of meat with flour before searing or by using a roux  (a mixture of melted fat such as heated butter or oil with equal amounts of flour mixed and slightly cooked in the same pan.)

I hope you enjoyed talking about soups and stews please let us know if you have any good recipes of your own we would love to hear them and remember Keep love in your heart and it will show in your cooking.

Classic Beef Stock

Total cooking time: 6 hrs Yields 20 to 25 servings

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Slice and soak Leek until water runs clean and there is no more sand. Slice onion. Chop scrubbed celery and carrots into 1-inch chunks. In a large shallow roasting pan, place soup bones, leeks, onion, and carrots. Roast, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until the bones are well browned, turning occasionally.

Drain off fat. Place the browned bones, onion, leek and carrots in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Pour 1/2 cup water into the roasting pan and rinse. Pour this liquid into soup pot. Add celery, tomato, potatoes, peppercorns, parsley, bay leaf, salt, thyme, and garlic. Add the 12 cups water.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 hours. Strain stock. Discard meat, vegetables, and seasonings.

To clarify stock for clear soup: In order to remove solid flecks that are too small to be strained out with cheesecloth, combine 1/4 cup cold water, 1 egg white, and 1 crushed eggshell. Add to strained stock. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Strain again through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.

Classic French Onion Soup

Courtesy of FoodTV Network
Cook Time 55 min Yield 4 to 8 servings

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.
Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Dees Beef Vegetable Barley Soup

Cooking Time: 5 hrs; Yields: 10 to 15 servings
Prepare the day before serving

4 large beef Soup bones with some meat still on them
1 beef Marrow bone
1 package of trimmed and cleaned Oxtail (about 6 to 7 pieces)
1 lb stew beef cut to bite size pieces.

Vegetable Oil

Pre-heat the oven to 375. In a roasting pan add the soup and marrowbone and roast for about 40 min. Remove from oven and drain fat. In a large soup pot add about 2 tbs. of vegetable oil and brown the oxtail and beef cubes until browned but still red in the middle. Set the beef cubes aside. In the same soup pot add the soup bones and the marrowbone to the oxtail. Take a cup of the water and deglaze the roasting pan using a wooden spatula to scrape the fond at the bottom. Add the water mixture to the soup pot.

Add the celery leaves, the sliced onion, the peppercorns; the bay leaves and the thyme bundle to the pot. Add the remaining 9 cups of water and simmer the soup over a low flame covered for 2 hours. Stirring occasionally.

Add the celery and the carrots to the soup and continue simmering for about an hour and a half stirring occasionally. Remove the soup bones and marrowbone (give the marrow to the dog). Discard the bones. Begin to add the Goya Beef Bullion to the soup starting with 2 envelopes. Add a little more water if needed. Add the mushrooms and the browned beef cubes to the soup. Simmer for another half hour gently stirring. Taste the broth. Add more Bullion if needed. Remove the oxtail and take the meat off the bones. Add the shredded oxtail to the soup. Add the can of stewed tomatoes to the pot breaking up the tomatoes with your hands as they go into the soup.

Simmer for another half hour occasionally stirring. During the last half hour of cooking add the ¾ cup of barley and continue to simmer until the barley has cooked. Remove soup from the flame. Remove the bay leaves and the thyme stems using the kitchen string. Cool the soup and refrigerate it overnight. In the morning remove from refrigerator and de-fat the soup. Refrigerating the soup helps in de-fatting the soup. The beef fat rises to the top and hardens. It is highly recommended you do this before eating the soup.

Goulash Soup

Cooking time 1 hr. Serves 8

2 cubed yellow or white potatoes to bite sized pieces
Salt to taste
Freshly ground Pepper
¼ cup chopped chives
Sour Cream.

Sauté the salt pork in a soup pot over medium heat, until crispy and the fat has rendered.
Add the cubed beef and sauté in the fat until the meat begins to brown. Add the onions and cook, covered, over medium to low heat until the onions are translucent,

Add the vinegar and boil over high heat until the liquid begins to reduce, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat 1 more minute. Stir in the paprika, then the tomato puree, and mix thoroughly.

Add the broth and spice sachet. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook until the meat is almost tender about 30 min. Add the potatoes and simmer until tender another 20 minutes. Discard any fat on the top of the soup using a shallow spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with chives and sour cream.

Beef Borscht

3 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 3- to 4-inch pieces
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves

BORSCHT

10 medium beets (about 2 inches in diameter), rinsed, tops trimmed
1 cup water
3 cups (about) canned beef broth
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1/2 small head)
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 large russet potato, peeled, diced
2 tablespoons (or more) red wine vinegar
Sour cream

FOR STOCK: Heat vegetable oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add half of beef ribs and sauté until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining ribs; transfer to plate. Add sliced onion to pot sauté until golden about 10 minutes. Return ribs and any juices to pot. Add 3 1/2 quarts water and remaining stock ingredients. Bring to boil, skimming any foam from surface. Reduce heat and simmer until ribs are very tender, skimming foam occasionally, about 2 1/2 hours.

Using tongs, transfer ribs to plate. Strain the stock into a large bowl. Chill stock until fat solidifies on top, at least 3 hours. Remove meat from bones; cut away excess fat. Shred meat finely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover meat and chill. Keep stock chilled.)

FOR BORSCHT: Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange beets in single layer in 13x9x2-inch baking dish; add 1 cup water. Cover; bake beets until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Cool beets. Peel and cut into 1/3-inch dice.
Remove fat from surface of stock. Add enough canned beef broth to stock to measure 10 cups.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add diced carrots and chopped onions and sauté 10 minutes. Add cabbage and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add 10 cups beef stock, beets, potato and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Simmer until cabbage and potato are tender, about 20 minutes. Add shredded meat; simmer 5 minutes. Season with additional red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Ladle borscht into bowls. Top each with dollop of sour cream and serve.

Chinese Beef Noodle Soup

Courtesy of Epicurious.com
Cooking Time: 3 hrs Yields 10 cups

1 teaspoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil if desired

In a heavy kettle (at least 5 quarts) combine short ribs, water, soy sauce, Scotch, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and skim froth. Add gingerroot, 5 scallions, flattened with the side of a large knife, garlic, cinnamon, aniseed, and pepper flakes and simmer, covered, 2 hours, or until rib meat is tender. Let ribs cool, uncovered, in broth 30 minutes and transfer with a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Chop meat, discarding fat and bones.

Strain broth through a fine sieve into a large saucepan and add chopped meat. If finishing and serving soup immediately, spoon off fat. For best results, chill soup, covered, overnight and discard fat.

Add turnips and simmer, covered 10 minutes. Add noodles and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes. Soup may be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead (cool uncovered before chilling covered). Reheat gently.

Slice remaining 3 scallions thin and stir into soup. Stir in sesame oil (if using)

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